Trying to have a successful, loving, honest and fun relationship while being twenty years old is harder to accomplish than it sounds. The majority of the twenty-something population wants to roam around humping and dumping every hottie they find at the club.

For some of us, that is just not the lifestyle we want.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the whole concept of ‘f*cking and chucking’ is fun, exciting and something you should definitely get out of your system in your twenties, but it can sometimes also maybe, possibly lead to some not-so-fun stuff: STD’s and STI’s, sad/loneliness, no real affection etc.

Everything in life has huge pros and cons; so to each is own!

We all go through phases and ride emotional roller coasters in our twenties, unsure of what or who we want to have relationships with. But, I promise that you will wake up one morning…hungover, tired, hungry, sore and lonely…and you will have a yearning for a loving hug and a gentle massage, and it won’t be there…and you will willow in loneliness for eternity!!!

Well, no…maybe not that extreme. You really will have that moment of realization one day though, and it might feel sad and you might want to fill that void. So, FILL IT.

The younger we are when we start dating, the sooner we realize what we DO and DON’T want out of a partner. Get all the bullsh*t out of the way early.

From personal experience, I look back on all the nut-job, clinically insane, f*cking whacko’s I’ve dated and…wow. How I made it out of those relationships alive is really questionable. But, all of it has happened for a great reason and a lot was learned from those experiences.

Being young and in love sucks most of the time; but enjoy it while you can. Before the crying and breaking up happens, learn to appreciate each moment you are happy and know that those moments are what matter in life. The relationships you have at this stage in life aren’t what you will remember years down the road, but the experiences and fun you had will be.

You only have one life; so love often and deeply. Don’t be afraid to have emotion and be vulnerable (that’s what makes you human). Put yourself out there and get the person you want! (Looking back and thinking ‘what could have happened’ will eat you up inside).

Really, my point here is that building relationships with people helps all of us grow and learn and figure ourselves out. So, even though dating in your twenties may seem scary and the relationships may only be short term…they are doing so much good for your long term.

For those of us with less than average ambition to succeed in a part-time–not paid enough for the work– job, being happy with what we’re doing to earn money can be pretty hard.

Since that ripe legal working age of sixteen, we’ve dealt with rude customers, unfriendly bosses, awkward work environments and wages that barely cover eating habits.

But alas, there may be hope!?

Unfortunately, no. There is no hope. So sorry to bring you down and be super honest here, but jobs suck at our age.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are some twenty year olds that know exactly who they are, exactly what they want, and who have magically landed amazingly fun and rewarding jobs; but such individuals are few and far between.

As for the majority of us, the keys to surviving the misery is to:

First, accept that working bull sh*t jobs is a part of life, all the greats have worked part-time jobs as young adults! So, get over it, get over yourself if you think you’re too good for your crap job, and try not to b*tch too much.

Next, you must set a goal to work towards. Yes work sucks and you want to quit and live in your parents basement free-of-charge forever, but you probably want to see the world as well. So, this job is sadly your ticket to those goals.

And finally…SAVE MONEY! Save, save, save. I promise you that saving money will change your life, make you happier, less stressed, and will make your dreams that much more attainable. Open a savings account if you don’t already have one, and put a minimum of 10% of each pay into that account (thank you Dad for teaching me how to start saving at a young age!!!)

You want that McDonald’s Happy Meal? Nope. Those shoes are hipster and you neeeed to have them? Again, NO!

Just think of every pointless item (expensive clothes/take-out food/drinks at the club etc etc) that you buy as one extra day of work at your job because to reach your goals, you’ll have to make up the money you used to buy all of that useless sh*t. The items might seem great and make you happy for a minute, but after a while you’ll just cry into your empty wallet and think of all the things you can’t do now.

We have so much time to live on this earth, that we won’t even remember how awful our jobs were when we were twenty, so just go for it. Pretend it’s your favourite job in the world and get yourself into the financial position to be able to quit your job, (make sure to be professional and give two weeks notice, that is a lesson you don’t need to learn for yourself) take that money you’ve so stressfully worked for, and get your ass to another country and find who you are through life experiences!

Now don’t get too carried away and land yourself in a mental institution for having a breakdown from working too hard, but pick up that extra shift if you have no plans, ask for more hours if you’re only getting five a week.

The moral here folks is that;

You are going to hate the jobs you work at this point in your life, you will probably hate half of your coworkers, you will not make enough per hour as you should. But I promise that if you just shut your mouth, punch in / punch out every shift, and don’t blow your money…you will one day see how much that bad job enabled you to do so many things!

After much time spent wallowing in self-doubt and a deteriorating sense of hope for the future, it has come across my mind that perhaps…just maybe…there are other twenty-somethings out there dealing with the same issues as me.

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Want to see the world, but don’t have enough money or time to make it possible?

Feel the pressure to ‘get a real job’?

Don’t know who or what the f**k you are yet?

Have that all-consuming stress keeping you up all hours of the day and night?
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Well, fret not my friends; you are not alone. We are not alone. We must come together as a united group. A group of young adults that just do not fit the part yet. A united group of girls and boys who just are not ready to take that step into adulthood.

So peers, here I am, opening the gate to (hopefully) a community where we can all see that just because you turned twenty, you do not have to be ready yet.

There is so much life to be lived, so much fun to be had, but…we are still going to b*tch about the bad stuff anyways, so might as well do it together!